Mayor calls for state and federal support as Council begins long list of road repairs

Mayor of the Goondiwindi Region the Honourable Cr Lawrence Springborg AM is asking residents for patience as road closures continue to disrupt traffic across the region and a long list of road repairs gets underway.

The Mayor says there has been an “enormous amount”

“The Queensland Government provides funding to rebuild roads better than before through their Betterment Program, and we expect that this will be their commitment to the flood-damaged roads in the Goondiwindi Region,” he said.

The Local Disaster Management Group (LDMG) has advised that some roads in the west of the region are likely to remain inaccessible for several weeks, as residents wait for floodwaters to clear.

Roads that are particularly vulnerable due to recently-incurred damage include the Cunningham state highway and the Leichhardt and Gore national highways.

“There are many sections of those highways that are too regularly cut-off by local water, let alone events like the last few weeks,” Cr Springborg said.

“The rainfall across the region has been quite extraordinary over the past couple of weeks, and the resulting water over our roads has isolated many rural residents and transport operators and motorists, leading to extensive damage across some of our key routes,” he said.

“Council’s staff have been working all hours to try to get our region moving again – but we will need government support to improve flood capacity on these critical routes,” he said. “We don’t just want patch jobs. These roads need upgrades, such as improved drainage works and raising, to reduce the risk of incurring yet more damage in future flood events.

“I’d also ask residents to review their need for travel on vulnerable local roads. These local roads are critical for the residents that live near them, and the increased traffic is likely to have long-lasting impacts for these locals.”

Goondiwindi Regional Council generally fulfils contracts to repair both state and national roads in the region, in addition to its maintenance and repair of local roads. Cr Springborg says Council’s limited resources in the face of such extensive damage means it needs support, particularly from the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, to complete works.

“I want to thank the many Council staff who have already contributed hours well above and beyond normal expectations to undertake critical roles during the recent floods and the numerous repairs already completed so far,” the Mayor said.

“It’s simply not feasible for Council to continue operating at all hours as we have over the past couple of weeks, and I know residents will be patient as our teams undertake the scale of the task ahead of us.”